Path creation for an electricity transition in South African tourism
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 5761600 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Irma Booyens (0000-0001-5543-9780, Department of Work, Employment and Organisation, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow; School of Tourism and Hospitality, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa), Gijsbert Hoogendoorn (0000-0001-7969-7952, University of Johannesburg), Kristy Langerman (0000-0003-0936-2051, University of Johannesburg), Kate Rivett-Carnac (Independent Researcher Specialising in Low-Carbon Technologies, Green Economy and Tourism, South Africa) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 26 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 194-213 |
| Publication date | 2024-02-17 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Tourism Geographies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1461-6688 • E-ISSN: 1470-1340 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/14616688.2023.2274836 |
| OpenAlex | W4388001433 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 7 |
| References cited | 41 |
Transitions to low-carbon energy are central to sustainability transitions, with electricity being a pressing current concern both in South Africa and globally. Economic, social, institutional, and political factors often make transitioning to renewable electricity particularly complex. In this article, we examine electricity transitions in tourism from a global South context, combining evolutionary economic geography (EEG) concepts with the multi-level perspective (MLP). Our findings point to strong exogenous lock-in factors working against an electricity transition in South African tourism. A historic dependence on coal, along with complex place-based factors lock the country into a carbon-intensive electricity path at the national electricity infrastructure level. In turn, these complexities adversely affect an electricity transition in the tourism sector. However, energy policy change along with innovation by tourism actors is emergent stimuli for creating low-carbon electricity paths. More specifically, recent climate change mitigation policies, the increasing unreliability of grid electricity, and legislative reforms are significant factors encouraging the renewal of the electricity system. At the same time, it is becoming more cost-effective for businesses, including tourism establishments, to install renewables. The South African case contributes to the emerging body of literature on sustainability transitions in tourism. It does this by showing that to achieve a just energy transition, proper appraisal of path-dependent structural challenges is needed to understand the nature and levels of change required
Business · Context (archaeology · Economic system · Economics · Electricity · Energy transition · Environmental economics · Geography · Natural resource economics · Political science · Renewable energy · Sustainability · Tourism · Energy and Environment Impacts · Energy, Environment, Economic Growth · Engineering · Innovation and Socioeconomic Development
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| Unique citing works | 7 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 3,5 |
| Citation span | 2024 - 2026 (3) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 7 |